Purpose: We aimed to investigate the impact of early versus late discharge following cesarean delivery (CD) on re-admission rate.
Methods: This is a retrospective cohort study of all CDs performed between 2013 and 2016. Patients who underwent CD between 01/13 and 12/14, were routinely discharged on postoperative day (POD) 3 (early discharge) and were defined as T1 group. Patients who had CD between 01/15 and 12/16 were routinely discharged on POD 4 (late discharge) and were defined as T2 group. Data on re-admission rate and postpartum complications were compared between the groups.
Results: As compared to the T2 group (n = 1856), less patients in the T1 group (n = 2020) had ≥ 2 previous CDs (13 vs. 15.6%, respectively; p = 0.02). The T1 group had shorter operative time as compared to the T2 group (p < 0.001). Postoperative complications and re-admission rates were similar between the groups. By logistic regression analysis model only intrapartum complications (RR = 7.87, CI 2.45-25.26, p < 0.001) and prolonged labor (RR = 3.68, CI 1.44-9.39, p = 0.006) were found to be independently associated with postpartum re-admission.
Conclusions: Early discharge after CD (POD 3) seems to be as safe as a more delayed discharge.
Keywords: Cesarean delivery; Early postpartum discharge; Postoperative complications; Postpartum re-admission.